Unfortunately, you don't want to stop the coughing; you want to thin the mucous down so that it's easier to cough up. You need to get rid of the mucous, and coughing is the only way to do it. Look up "huff cough" on the internet. It's a technique that often helps. Sometimes docs prescribe one of a number of different percussion devices that are designed to loosen the mucous and get it moving so it's easier to get up. Mucinex helps and NAC sometimes helps. If you have to use a cough medicine, my pulmo always recommends the DM version.

As for exacerbations, you may be done with one fairly quickly or you may find they linger on for sometimes as much as several months. It depends a lot on you, what kind of shape you were in before you got sick, whether you were hospitalized on not, now long you were on your back, how well you responded to treatment.....there are lots of variables.

What will help with future exacerbations: get yourself in the best physical shape you can by starting a daily exercise program, take your meds regularly, get to a normal weight, and when you do get something respiratory get to your doc ASAP. Very often if you catch something early you can avoid the ER and the hospital altogether, so don't wait.

I know how you feel, nana.I have also often enough been on 50mg prednisone, then weaned off it.I frequently have to take it.

Probably you had a chest infection too? I would check this with the dr if you don't know.

It is scary when one can't breathe.If it gets bad enough the best thing is ring an ambulance, unless you have home oxygen.

thank you so very much...this is all new to me. Will check it out now.

go to copd.com and it will explain what they are its basically periods where no matter what you do you just cant get a normal rythym of breathing

all these terms are new to me , as this illness is too. What are exacerbations? I was diagnosed recently